Clothes wringer



May 25 ,1926. 1,585,451

J. LIGGETT CLOTHES WRINGER Filed Sept. 26. 1923 -51 invention; and

connectin as extending obliquely from the neckpor` Petenfed' Mey' 5, 192e.`

y 1,536,451 PATENT oFFlcl-z.

UNITEDsrATEs .rms Lleem'r, or caricano, lILLINoIs. cLornns wnmenn.

, application mea september 26,1923.' serieu no. 664,874.

.feeding of theclothes to the point of compression. The invention embodies the use of contacting endless` belts, preferably of rubber, which 'are 'interposed between the compression rollers, so that the wringin is effected by the action of the belts rat er themselves. l A

In this arrangement there is a gradual rather vthan an vabrupt,advance ofthe fabric to the comp l.. point, which guards against'injury b 'the hand of the operator, guards'against tearing or frayingof the fabric, and provides for the dlscharge of the water vin,` asuitable and convenient manner.

In thedrawing?-v Figure 1 isan end view partially in section', showing the features of the present Fig. 2 is a side viewv of one end of the wringer, the other end being broken away. The wringer, as anwhole, comprises a palr of end frames each of which is preferably 'of a configuration providing upper'arms 11, lower and more e ong'ated arms 12, and a neck 13. Thearms are shown tion of each endpframe, the -upper and lower arms affording mountngs for a pair of upper rollersv 13 and a pair of lower rollers 14 arranged in spaced relation, as shown. Each end frame has outwardly extending therefrom on each side of the center a vertical flange 15, and the wall of'the frame intermediate the flanges is perforated to provide an upper slot 16 and a lower slot 17'.

A -vThe upper slot carries a slidably mounted half bearing block 18 opening downwardly,l and the lower slot carries a half bearing block 19 opening upwardly. The upper vbearing block serves as a journal mounting for a pintle 20 on the end of'a compression roller 21 preferably formed of comparativelyl hard rubber of a character customarilyT employed in the construction of clothes wrmgers.

.- The .upperA roller 21 co-acts with a similar lower rol er v22 provided with a pntle 23 which extends outwardly through the 'slot 17, and is preferably squared at its end 24 to receivea handle 25. The lower bearing block 19 affords a journalmountin for a pintle 26 ofa central idle roller 27 ocated immediately below the lower compressionv roller, as shown. It will be understood that the arrangement is duplicated at each end of the machine with the exception that at the far end of the machine it is desirable to provide intermeshing gears 28 on the pintles which carry the upper and'lower compression rollers so as to positively drive'both j of these rollers when the handle is rotated. than vby immediate contact of. the 'rollers The upper journal block 18 is backed by a coil spring 29 bearing against -a slidable follower plate 30 contracted by a thumbscrew 31 entered through' a bridge 32 so that the degree of compression between the rollers can be varied or regulated at the will of the operator. The idle rollers 13 and 14 are mounted upon pintles 33 each of which projects outwardly through an elongated slot 34 in the adjacent portion of the adjacent end frame, and each of the'pintles near its outer end has rigidly mounted thereon a grooved disk 35 which is surrounded by a ringshaped ball-race 36, ball bearings 37 being interposedl to reduce friction.

It' will be understood that the merely afford the necessary clearance for the pintles, and that the parts are journaled on the ball bearings constructed and located, as indicated. In order to provide for an in 'and out adjustment of the bearings, each of the ring-shaped ball-races'is provided with a screw-threaded stem 38. The stems for the ball-races which support the lower rollers 14 are entered through outwardly extending lugs 39 formed on the lower arms of the end frames, and adjustment is effected by means of inner and outer jamb nuts 39 and 40 on opposite sides of the lugs. The stems for the upper ring-shaped ball-races are entered through the adjacent flanges 15 and locked in the manner heretofore described.

The two upper rollers 13, together withrs the upper compression roller, afford a mounting for an endless upper com ression vbelt 41, while the two lower idle ro ers 14,

slots, 34

tensioned to the desired degree by adjustment ofthe idle rollers and possess suticient compressibility to afford a soft yielding surface in contact with the clothes.

It will be observedV thatthe two upper idle rollers are so dis osed in relation to the upper compression ro ler that the upper endless compression belt will travel o liquely toward and from the compression point, and likewise that the mount-ings for the lower compression belt will hold the latter obliquely elevated at its center point so that the two belts, in conjunction with one another, will subtend converging spaces on opposite 'sides of thercompression rollers. It will also be observed that the center idle roller is mounted to hold the lower turn of the lower compression belt in elevated relation at its center point and in contact with the overlying lower compression roller.

In order to mount the wringer as a whole on the tub with which it is to be used, lugs 43 outstanding from the fianges 15 are provided at each end, which lugs are perforated to receive screws or bolts ada 'ted to secure the wringer to a pair of space uprights,not shown, and which are provided on the edge of the tub. In use, the turning of the handle will feed the upper and lower compression belts in converging relation toward one another, and the wet clothes are placed upon the lowermost belt and carried upwardly to the com ression point. The convergence of the two elts is gradual rather than abrupt, so that the compression will be gradually applied in a manner which will avoid tearing or fraying of the fabric, and will also tend to flatten down the buttons in such a manner as to prevent the same from being torn olf. The contact of the two belts will aord a iirmand yet yielding compression for the clothes, and the water expressed therefrom will run down along the lower belt and back into the tub, it being understood that the edges of the belts lie in close contact with the inner faces of the respective end frames.

The invention is one which provides for a suitable tensioning of the belts to effect a proper feeding of the clothes and for a re lation of the pressure applied at the mt where the water is expressed. Althoug the invention has been described with considerable particularity, it is not the intention to strictly limit the invention to the details herein set forth, since the same may be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim :M

In a clothes wringer, the combination of end frames in spaced relation to one another, upper and lower compression rollers mounted one above the other between center portions of the end frames, a pair of upper guide rollers on opposite sides of and above the interspace between the compression rollers and at substantially equal distances therefrom and mounted between upper outer portions of the end frames, a pair of lower guide rollers on opposite sides of and below the interspace between the compression rollers and at substantially equal distances therefrom and mounted between lower portions of the end frames and at a greater distance from one another than the upper guide rollers, an upper endless compression belt having lower turn port-ions inclined downwardly from the upper guide rollers and carried beneath the upper compression roller and around the upper guide rollers, a lower compression belt having upper turn portions inclined upwardly toward and over the lower compression roller and carried around the lower guide rollers, the end frames standing in close relation to the edges of the respective belts to furnish closely spaced side guides along the inclined portions of the belts, journal mountings for the ends of the respective guide rollers, and means for adjusting said mountings to slightly vary the distances bet-Ween the respective pairs of rollers for taking up slack in the belts, substantially as described.

JAMES LIGGETT. 

